7 - 50 Ways - Experiences of Mothers - English - v1 Compressed

An activity that helps you combat bias against women at work
Experiences of mothers
©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC
An activity that helps you combat the biases women face at work
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An activity that helps you combat the biases women face at work

Welcome

BROUGHT TO YOU BY
LeanIn.Org helps women achieve their ambitions

and works to create an equal world.
LeanIn.Org thanks our partners for their valuable contributions to this program:

WHY WE ARE HERE
Bias—whether deliberate or unconscious—is holding

women back in the workplace.
It makes it harder for women to get hired and
promoted and negatively impacts their day-to-day
work experiences.
This hurts women and makes it hard for companies to
level the playing field.
Today, we’ll learn concrete steps to address the biases
women face head-on.
TODAY’S AGENDA
1 Set the tone

2 Learn about biases women face at work
3 Dive into specific situations and solutions
4 Finish with a closing activity

Setting the tone

SETTING THE TONE
1 Women face biases due to their race,

sexuality, and other aspects of their identity.
2 Intersectionality can be at play in any situation.
3 We all fall into bias traps.
4 Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough—
commit to take action.

GROUND RULES FOR TODAY
1 Some situations may be difficult to hear.

2 Stories should be anonymous.
3 Give people the benefit of the doubt.

Overview: Common types of
biases women face at work

COMMON TYPES OF BIASES WOMEN FACE AT WORK
Likeability bias Performance bias Maternal bias
Watch the video:

“Introduction to the Common
Biases Women Experience”
Attribution bias Affinity bias Intersectionality

COMMON TYPES OF BIASES WOMEN FACE AT WORK
Likeability bias Performance bias Maternal bias

Likeability bias is rooted Performance bias is based Motherhood triggers
in age-old expectations. on deep-rooted—and false assumptions that
We expect men to be incorrect—assumptions women are less
assertive, so when they about women’s and men’s committed to their
lead, it feels natural. We abilities. We tend to careers—and even
expect women to be kind underestimate women’s less competent.12
and communal, so when performance and
they assert themselves, overestimate men’s.9
we like them less.11
Attribution bias Affinity bias Intersectionality

Attribution bias is closely Affinity bias is what it
Bias isn’t limited to gender.
linked to performance bias. sounds like: we gravitate Women can also experience
Because we see women as toward people like biases due to their race,
less competent than men, ourselves in appearance, sexual orientation, a
we tend to give them less beliefs, and background. disability, or other aspects
credit for accomplishments And we may avoid or of their identity.
and blame them more for even dislike people who
mistakes.10 are different from us.13

OVERVIEW: MICROAGGRESSIONS
Microaggressions are comments and actions that

demean or dismiss someone based on their
gender, race, or other aspects of their identity.
Some groups of women experience them even
more often:
Black women are nearly 2.5x more likely than white
1 women to hear someone at work express surprise about
their language skills or other abilities
Lesbian and bisexual women and women with disabilities
1 are far more likely than other women to hear demeaning
remarks about themselves or others like them

Icebreakers

ICEBREAKER: DID YOU KNOW? 1–2 minutes
When hiring managers believed a woman had

children because “Parent-Teacher Association
coordinator” appeared on her résumé, how
much less likely was she to be hired?

ICEBREAKER: DID YOU KNOW?
When hiring managers ANSWER

believed a woman had
children because “Parent- 79% less likely to be hired.
Teacher Association (And if she was hired, she
coordinator” appeared on her would be offered an average
résumé, how much less likely of $11,000 less in salary.)435
was she to be hired?

ICEBREAKER: DID YOU KNOW? 1–2 minutes
When parents work from home, how

many times more likely are mothers to
be interrupted by their children,
compared to fathers?

ICEBREAKER: DID YOU KNOW?
When parents work from ANSWER

home, how many times more
likely are mothers to be More than 1.5 times
interrupted by their children, more likely.436
compared to fathers?

Workplace situations

INSTRUCTIONS
1 Move into your small group or breakout

room. Everyone should have a copy of the
presentation you will use for discussion.
2 Select one person to read the situation

and WHY IT MATTERS.
3 As a group, discuss what you would do in

this situation.
4 After 3-5 minutes of discussion, read

WHAT TO DO and WHY IT HAPPENS.
5 Continue through as many situations as

you can in the time allotted.

REVIEWS & PROMOTIONS
A colleague recommends a man for promotion

over a woman, saying, “I’m not sure about her
long-term commitment. She just got engaged,
and I think she wants to have kids soon.”
WHY IT MATTERS
When coworkers make assumptions about a woman’s commitment to work based on

what’s happening in her personal life, it unfairly limits her opportunities—and could
cause your company to miss out on a highly committed candidate. It’s also illegal in
many states to consider a person’s marital or parental status as a factor in promotions.

A colleague recommends a man for promotion over a woman, saying, “I’m not sure about her
long-term commitment. She just got engaged, and I think she wants to have kids soon.”
WHAT TO DO WHY IT HAPPENS
Suggest to your colleague that women should When women get engaged or married, studies
decide for themselves whether or not they want to show that they start to experience maternal
take on new challenges at work. If you’re feeling bias.437 People—consciously or unconsciously—
bold, you can also point out the double standard: start to question their competence and
“It’s hard to imagine that we’d say that about a man commitment, based on the mistaken belief that
who recently got engaged.” women can’t be fully present at work if they have
family responsibilities at home.438
Rooted in maternal bias

HIRING
Your colleague advocates for a job candidate

with no gap in her résumé over another with a
gap from when she was a full-time mom.
WHY IT MATTERS
Companies that look negatively on job applicants who take time off to raise kids risk
missing out on qualified candidates—in particular, women. Mothers are more likely
than fathers to take time off for childcare, and they face harsher career penalties when
they do.439

Your colleague advocates for a job candidate with no gap in her résumé over another with
a gap from when she was a full-time mom.
Push for the candidates to be evaluated on their When a woman becomes a mother, it can make
skills and experience, without taking into account others think that she’s less committed to her
the time taken off for caregiving. career—even less competent.441 As a result, she is
often held to higher standards and offered fewer
Longer term, recommend that your team use opportunities.442 Seeing a gap in a woman’s résumé
standardized hiring criteria and apply them can trigger this maternal bias and hurt her chances
consistently to all candidates. That can help ensure of being hired.443
you judge everyone by the same yardstick.440

MEETING DYNAMICS
Your manager schedules a virtual team meeting at

an hour when your coworker has blocked off time
on her calendar to care for her young children.
WHY IT MATTERS
This can seriously interfere with your coworker’s ability to balance work and life. Many
people plan ahead with partners or caregivers, and last-minute changes can be
disruptive or impossible. It can also contribute to a feeling of being “always on”—
which more than 30 percent of employees name as one of the biggest downsides to
remote work in 2020.444 And if situations like this happen often, they can lead to stress
or burnout.445

Your manager schedules a virtual team meeting at an hour when your coworker has blocked
off time on her calendar to care for her young children.
Remind your manager of your coworker’s This reflects the norm that the “ideal worker” is
schedule constraint and suggest an alternate always available and doesn’t need to take time
time. You could also mention how blocking time away from work to care for family, pursue personal
like this is vital for maintaining work-life balance interests, or simply recharge.447 Decades of research
and explain that practices like these can help on the ideal worker show that this norm can harm
employees be more productive and feel more mothers more than fathers, since mothers often do
committed to the company.446 more caregiving.448

EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS
A colleague doesn’t invite a woman on your

team to an evening work event, explaining
that they assume the woman prefers to be
home for dinner with her family.
WHY IT MATTERS
When women with kids are excluded from activities, it can limit their career growth.
It can also make them feel isolated from the rest of their team. For companies that
care about retaining women, that’s a problem.

A colleague doesn’t invite a woman on your team to an evening work event, explaining that
they assume the woman prefers to be home for dinner with her family
Say, “We don’t actually know what [Name] wants. People often assume that once a woman starts a
How about we offer her the opportunity and let family, she stops being as committed to her job and
her decide for herself?” Consider pointing out the career.449 This can lead to generalizations—for
difference in how mothers and fathers are often example, that moms will say no to stretch
treated: “Do we assume fathers aren't interested assignments, business travel, or invitations to work
in evening events?” You can also remind them of events after hours.
the bigger picture: “Let’s make sure we give the
moms on our team the same chances as everyone Rooted in maternal bias
else—sometimes they get sidelined.”

Someone complains to you that a new

dad on the team is taking too much of his
allotted family leave.
WHY IT MATTERS
All workers—men too!—should be able to spend time with their families, whether
that’s to bond with new babies, care for sick kids, or be there for aging parents.
When workplaces have generous family leave policies, employees are happier, more
productive, and more likely to stay on staff.450 Plus, when men don’t use their leave,
it makes it harder for women to use theirs without judgment.

Someone complains to you that a new dad on the team is taking too much of his allotted
family leave.
Stand up for your colleague on leave. Point out Working fathers can face pushback for spending
WHY IT MATTERS —how family leave is good for time with their kids. They tend to receive lower
workers, families, and companies.451 More performance ratings and experience steeper
importantly, remind them that no one should be reductions in future earnings than mothers who take
forced to choose between being a good the same amount of leave.452 Much like maternal
employee and a good parent. bias, this pushback is rooted in gender stereotypes.
Moms are expected to be more committed to family
and less to their careers.453 But the reverse is true for
fathers, and when they go against that expectation
by prioritizing family, they are penalized.454

EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS Intersectional card
In a meeting, a colleague tells an Asian woman

they hope she won’t be away on maternity
leave for long, since the team “can’t manage
without her.”
WHY IT MATTERS
This comment may make your coworker feel pressure to cut her maternity leave short,
which could negatively impact her health.455 It could even make her feel that her job
might be in jeopardy unless she returns early.456 This could in turn harm your company.
Stress about maternity leave can make valuable employees less productive and less
happy with their jobs.457

In a meeting, a colleague tells an Asian woman they hope she won’t
be away on maternity leave for long, since the team “can’t manage Intersectional card
without her.”
You should signal that you support your pregnant Asian women are more likely than other groups to
coworker taking her full leave. For example, you be discouraged from taking family leave.459 This
might say, “We’ll really miss you, [Name,] but I hope happens because they are often stereotyped as
you take all your leave! You deserve it.” You could worker bees who are willing to prioritize work over
also offer to help her plan coverage for when she’s family.460 But while this happens to Asian women
gone. You may want to take a moment to explain more than women overall, it can happen to anyone
WHY IT MATTERS to the colleague who made the (men too) because of beliefs that the “ideal worker”
comment. In addition, you could ask HR to reassure should be willing to sacrifice their personal life to
the woman that she has every right to take all her advance their career.461
leave and that the company will keep her projects
on track while she's out.458 Rooted in maternal bias

REVIEWS & PROMOTIONS
Someone suggests that a woman on your

team be given a big, high-profile project,
and a colleague says, “I don’t think this is a
good time for her since she just had a baby.”
WHY IT MATTERS
Your company likely wants to retain and promote talented women. Sidelining them—
even with good intentions—works against that goal by denying them opportunities
that can lead to advancement.

Someone suggests that a woman on your team be given a big, high-profile project, and
a colleague says, “I don’t think this is a good time for her since she just had a baby.”
Remind your colleague that this could be a career- Motherhood triggers assumptions that women are
changing project for whoever gets it, so it’s better less competent and less committed to their careers.
to let the new mom decide for herself whether or As a result, they are held to higher standards and
not she wants to take it on. presented with fewer opportunities. Studies show
that the “maternal wall” women face when they
have kids is the strongest gender bias.462

HIRING Intersectional card
In a meeting about hiring for a senior role

that requires travel, someone questions
whether a Latina would want to be away
from her family that much.
WHY IT MATTERS
The question is based on biased assumptions about this employee’s family

commitments and ambition. It could mean she loses a major opportunity that she’s
qualified for and that your company misses out on her talents.

In a meeting about hiring for a senior role that requires travel,
someone questions whether a Latina would want to be away from her Intersectional card
family that much.
Ask your co-worker, “What makes you think that?” This comment may be influenced by several
This may make them realize their comment isn’t stereotypes about Latinas: that they aren’t
based on hard evidence. Explain WHY IT HAPPENS ambitious in their careers, they usually have a lot of
Latinas are often stereotyped as having lots of kids children, they prioritize family more than other
or not being career-oriented.463 You can also groups do, and they’re more naturally suited to
recommend asking all of the candidates how they junior roles.464 All of these preconceptions can keep
feel about the travel requirements. Let them speak Latinas out of the senior roles they’re qualified for.
for themselves.

A colleague confides that they’re

frustrated that a woman on your team is
taking her full maternity leave during
such a busy time for the company.
WHY IT MATTERS
Comments like this can make it uncomfortable for employees to spend time at
home with new children—and research shows this can lead to lower productivity
and make employees more likely to leave.465

A colleague confides that they’re frustrated that a woman on your team is taking her full
maternity leave during such a busy time for the company.
Explain that family leave is good for workers, Maternity leave is often viewed as an unnecessary
families, and companies.466 When workplaces cost, even though studies show that business
have good family leave policies, employees are outcomes can improve when companies offer
happier, more productive, and more likely to leave.468 In addition, people sometimes assume that
stay.467 Plus, remind them that no one should women who take time off for their children are no
have to choose between being a good employee longer as committed to their jobs.469
and a good family member.

MEETING DYNAMICS
Your manager complains to you after a woman on

your team was interrupted by her children during a
client call, saying, “That was really unprofessional.”
WHY IT MATTERS
Being labeled unprofessional can hurt the woman’s reputation and chances of
advancement. And it’s likely unwarranted in situations like this one, when the
interruption is irrelevant to her performance and outside of her control. Situations like
this are far more likely to happen to mothers: when mothers and fathers work from
home, women are interrupted over 50 percent more often by their children.470

Your manager complains to you after a woman on your team was interrupted by her
children during a client call, saying, “That was really unprofessional.”
Remind your manager that your colleague is Your manager’s judgment is likely based on norms of
talented, accomplished, and doing her job well. You what it means to be an “ideal worker.” In the United
could also explain that children are far more likely States, the ideal worker is expected to keep work
to interrupt mothers than fathers. Knowing this can and family separate and prevent their family from
help your manager effectively support the mothers interfering with work.471 The comment may also be
on their team. fueled by maternal bias, the false belief that mothers
are less committed and competent than fathers and
non-mothers.472 Virtual work can make a woman
more likely to be affected by maternal bias because
her children may be more visible to her employer.

You’re in a conversation with coworkers and

someone without children asks a woman with
children, “How do you manage work and raising
your kids? You must be overwhelmed.”
WHY IT MATTERS
This question reinforces an often unconscious belief that dedicated mothers can’t also
be dedicated employees.473 It also assumes that the woman is overwhelmed, which can
feel like a judgment on her ability to handle her workload and may lead to her getting
passed over for opportunities. If this happens a lot, it can make women feel unsupported
as working parents, which can make them more likely to leave the company.474

You’re in a conversation with coworkers and someone without children asks a woman with
children, “How do you manage work and raising your kids? You must be overwhelmed.”
There are a few ways you can respond, based on Many people fall into the trap of believing that
what feels right. You can point out that feeling women can’t be fully committed to both work and
overwhelmed is something everyone experiences family. That can fuel skepticism about women’s
from time to time, whether or not they have kids. abilities. Fathers are often exempt from these
You can make the point that it’s not just working assumptions.475
moms who have a lot to manage: “I imagine all
working parents feel overwhelmed sometimes.” Rooted in maternal bias
And if your colleague doesn’t seem overwhelmed
to you at all, you can say that too.

A colleague comments that a mom on

your team is working late at the office
when she should be home with her family.
WHY IT MATTERS
All parents, regardless of their gender, should be able to manage their work and family
responsibilities without judgment.

A colleague comments that a mom on your team is working late at the office when she
should be home with her family.
You might push back on your colleague’s When women become mothers, we often assume
comment by saying something like, “I think it they can’t be highly committed to both work and
shows commitment to her job, just like when a family.476 And when mothers do show that they’re
father stays late.” highly committed at work, they’re often judged
negatively for it, because of the strong cultural belief
that moms should be home with their kids.477

Closing activity

SUMMARY: STRATEGIES TO COMBAT BIAS
When bias occurs, there are a number of ways to respond,

some of which you discussed today. Below is a summary of
the strategies you can use to combat bias.
1 Speak up for someone in the moment
1 Ask a probing question
1 Stick to the facts
1 Explain how bias is in play

1
Advocate for policy or process change
1

CLOSING ACTIVITY: ONE ACTION 5–10 minutes
“My One Action to address bias against

women in the workplace is…”

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An activity that helps you combat bias against women at work

Use “Slide Show” mode to click on links in this presentation or right

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

LeanIn.Org helps women achieve their ambitions

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Bias—whether deliberate or unconscious—is holding

1 Set the tone

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

1 Women face biases due to their race,

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

1 Some situations may be difficult to hear.

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Likeability bias Performance bias Maternal bias

Watch the video:

Attribution bias Affinity bias Intersectionality

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Likeability bias Performance bias Maternal bias

Attribution bias Affinity bias Intersectionality

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Microaggressions are comments and actions that

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

When hiring managers believed a woman had

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

When hiring managers ANSWER

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

When parents work from home, how

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

When parents work from ANSWER

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

1 Move into your small group or breakout

2 Select one person to read the situation

3 As a group, discuss what you would do in

4 After 3-5 minutes of discussion, read

5 Continue through as many situations as

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

A colleague recommends a man for promotion

When coworkers make assumptions about a woman’s commitment to work based on

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

WHAT TO DO WHY IT HAPPENS

Rooted in maternal bias

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Your colleague advocates for a job candidate

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

WHAT TO DO WHY IT HAPPENS

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Your manager schedules a virtual team meeting at

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

WHAT TO DO WHY IT HAPPENS

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

A colleague doesn’t invite a woman on your

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

WHAT TO DO WHY IT HAPPENS

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

Someone complains to you that a new

©2021 LeanIn.Org, LLC

WHAT TO DO WHY IT HAPPENS